I hope this is the proper area for this thread. I was just wondering what would be considered a fast internet connection today. I'm online with a brand new Mac Pro and I'm speed testing at 1010 kBps Down/310 Up. This is unacceptable and I'm looking for a new ISP. What speed numbers should I expect on the Mac Pro?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What is considered a fast internet connection?
- Thread starter TenFour
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Surely this has more to do with what your ISP is offering?
More details?
Where are you… what speed you are expecting… etc.
More details?
Where are you… what speed you are expecting… etc.
That's not incredibly fast. But it is in the range of DSL. I would say anything above 3.0 Mbps is pretty good. You'll pay more for that ofcourse.
In the UK, 8Mbits/sec is pretty much the standard speed which all providers offer with some offering up to 24Mbits/sec downstream too.
The coverage of 8Mbits/sec is pretty much nationwide (although the speed you get reduces depending on how far you live from your local telephone exchange) while 20MBits+ is more limited.
The coverage of 8Mbits/sec is pretty much nationwide (although the speed you get reduces depending on how far you live from your local telephone exchange) while 20MBits+ is more limited.
Precisely my point, that's why I'm looking for an new ISP. The computer isn't the cause or solution, but I want service that's worthy of a $4000 computer. My present situation is analogous to a Ferrari driving on 4 flat tires.
Broadband, 10 Mbps. Good enough for me, DSL is slow compared to it, but not too bad as to make things unusable, IMO a computer doesn't have a lot of use without the internet unless you have something to do on it, the internet to me is a time waster, and a good one at that.
I know people are upset with Comcast and Time Warner right now, but from what I have seen Cable is way faster than DSL in most cases.
My standard Comcast connection downloads at 8-16Mb all the time, and uploads burst from 384K-1.2Mb. I see Time Warner connections with 3-6Mb also.
My parents 1.0Mb DSL connection is noticably slower.
If you are downloading much - say podcasts, iTunes songs, movies, etc, then this is a noticable difference.
My standard Comcast connection downloads at 8-16Mb all the time, and uploads burst from 384K-1.2Mb. I see Time Warner connections with 3-6Mb also.
My parents 1.0Mb DSL connection is noticably slower.
If you are downloading much - say podcasts, iTunes songs, movies, etc, then this is a noticable difference.
Capital B? as in Bytes? 1010 kiloBytes/sec is 8080 kilobits/sec = 7.890625 Mbps
So you are getting nearly 8Mbps and you are complaining? Don't...be happy.
If you meant bits, then yeah...thats nothing to write home about.
capital B means bytes, you have an extremely fast connection, and if you live in america you should feel DAMNED privileged to live in an area that has something higher than 6mbps "theoretical maximum" (thats bits, and real world speeds are more likely to be around 4.5mbps). Most of america cant come anywhere close to 1MB download speeds, you probably have a 10mbps or a very efficient 8mbps service which is absolutely nothing to complain about.
i have Surewest fiber to the home here in cali
speed is 20Mbit down / 20Mbit up (or about 2MBps each way)
$89 a month .... price about to drop, and they offer 50Mbit / 50Mbit too
speed is 20Mbit down / 20Mbit up (or about 2MBps each way)
$89 a month .... price about to drop, and they offer 50Mbit / 50Mbit tooCanada - best you can get
I have Highspeed Cable internet - 18 Mbps down and 1Mbps up (so called Extreme Plus).
Generally get a max of 15 or 16 download - practically speaking.
You can also get 18Mbps - on some DSL connections if you are close enough to the CO and/or work for one of the ISP's.
I have Highspeed Cable internet - 18 Mbps down and 1Mbps up (so called Extreme Plus).
Generally get a max of 15 or 16 download - practically speaking.
You can also get 18Mbps - on some DSL connections if you are close enough to the CO and/or work for one of the ISP's.
Unacceptable to you maybe but 1010/310 is faster then what most people have and is about mid-range for a DSL connection. cable companies can offer up to 10X faster but that 10X fster line is shared with other users.
Today if you want a fast connection that puts you in the upper 5% of home users I think you need about 5 megabits/sec. I've seen prices for this level of service for just over $100 per month. Some companies are offering fiber optic connection to the home now. These are about 5Mb/sec and the pprice is well under $100
I'm spoiled here. I'm typing this on a OC-3 link.
See here for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OC-192#OC-3_.2F_STM-1x
janet when you're the only one in the entire university...
mine averages 3.0mb/s download and uploads during term time.
mine averages 3.0mb/s download and uploads during term time.
California. Can't get Cable (rural), lucky to get 5000 down and around 650 up with dsl. Thought that was good until I tried my brother's Cable (Bay Area) and he is pulling 17000 or so. Now I am discontented again... Do I need the speed? Puhleese, think how much faster I could reload the forum spy...
No, no, my mistake, I meant kb/s, why I capitalized the b I don't know. So I got my answer; my connection is nothing to write home about.
Sounds good to me, what University is that, NASCAR University... pretty fast, no?
I love Be... I've been signed up with them for a year and I've had no issues whatsoever. I don't even get the 24mb/s... I'm on about 5mb/s, but they are just such a great company that I don't care...
Wow, I really sound like an advert!